


I'll always come back to you

by moeblobmegane



Series: ∞ Days with NagiRin [2]
Category: Free!
Genre: Arabian!AU, Dancer!Nagisa, M/M, Prince!Rin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-03
Updated: 2014-02-03
Packaged: 2018-01-11 01:34:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1167037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moeblobmegane/pseuds/moeblobmegane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rin as the prince of a desert kingdom and Nagisa as a travelling dancer.</p><p>[Arabian AU, repost from tumblr]</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll always come back to you

**Author's Note:**

> Because what kind of collection of Free! AUs is this, if it doesn’t have that ED, right? :D
> 
> Based on [this picture](http://24.media.tumblr.com/9337cc9103a6559795c70974fb451e4b/tumblr_mz13jsaNGS1r16yplo1_1280.jpg) because NagiRin seldom gets official shippy pictures.

Nitori groaned as he sat down on the bench outside the palace, placing his shield down on his side. He glanced in front of him and saw the parade of wagons along the main road, closely followed by a group of people dressed in bright-colored skimpy clothing. “ _Why?_ ” He muttered to himself, glaring at the group.

Mikoshiba, who was standing by the palace walls, sat beside him and patted him on the back. “What’s with the murderous look, kid?” He laughed as usual, low and full of mirth.

"It’s been a week." Nitori answered vaguely, sighing deeply.

Understanding with just that, Mikoshiba just shrugged and replied with a “It’s the first time we’ve seen him this happy.”

 _"I know"_  The smaller intoned with another dejected sigh. “I’m happy for the prince too, but they’re travelling entertainers. They  _never_  stay.”

—-

Matsuoka Rin was a renowned prince. He was handsome and wise, rich and powerful. His desert palace was more beautiful than anything around the country. But there were also bad rumors about him; rumors that called him cruel and harsh, rude and evil.

While it wasn’t  _exactly_  true, Rin did have some issues that the palace guards acknowledged. He was nice to his subordinates to a certain degree, but he was strict and blunt and might hurt with words those who weren’t used to him. He didn’t smile much, and he grumbled all the time about how he hated having to deal with the idiotic kings from the other kingdoms.

Everyone knew Rin was a great prince, but they also knew he wasn’t exactly a shining example of how a prince should interact with other people.

And somehow? His people liked him that way. He was harsh, but he spoke the truth. He was broody, but he observed everyone and knew them well enough to make the people work better.

The kingdom loved Rin, and even if he doesn’t say so, Rin loved his kingdom too.

—-

And that’s why, when the travelling entertainers appeared and danced for the prince, everyone was either worried that the prince would throw them out, or they were confused as to why anyone would want to take a chance with this kingdom. There were so many other places to perform in, and this one was just known for having an unhospitable prince.

 

So when they arrived... No one guessed that the prince would smile widely and call for more food and drinks. No one guessed that the prince would ask them to stay as long as they like.

Nitori, at once, asked around about them to make sure no sorcery was being used to fool their beloved prince. Mikoshiba, though he wasn’t keen on doing so, also poked around just to make sure that the kingdom was safe.

—-

"They’re really cute though," Nagisa said with a smile as he looked outside the window. He was inside the prince’s room, playing around with the pieces of cloth that was laid out on the table. The prince, strict and practical as he was, actually really enjoyed spoiling the hell out of him. He's not complaining at all, and he honestly liked that side of the prince. It’s just that, the palace guards looked at him weirdly because of this. "They worry about you a lot" He added, glancing back to the prince who was sprawled on the bed without a care.

"Mmm" Rin nodded vaguely, yawning and stretching out his limbs. "My men are the best there is."

"Your men-" That sentence made Nagisa laugh more than he probably should, making him sit back down on a chair by his side. “Did you hear what you just said?” He continued laughing out loud.

Rin painstakingly rolled to his side to look at him. “What?” There was annoyance and a bubbling childish tantrum in his tone.

"Nothing." Nagisa shrugged, trying to hide the smile on his face. " _Your men_  are good people, I can attest to that.”

Rolling his eyes and lying back down, Rin replied with a “You are not one of my men, if that’s where the joke was.” He huffed before closing his eyes tiredly.

Nagisa couldn’t help the giggle that went out of his lips. “You’re catching on pretty well, Rinrin.”

An angry growl escaped Rin's lips upon hearing those words. He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. "Remember when I said I’ll execute you if someone outside hears you call me that?" He said with a cruel tone, a smirk appearing on his lips. " _I wasn’t kidding_."

Instead of being scared like any normal person should, Nagisa shook his head in disbelief. “Yeah, yeah, you would kill me and feed my body to the lions and then ask a witch to reanimate me and _then_ kill me again.” He drawled on with a bored tone. “Did I get it right?”

Rin actually chuckled at that. “Yeah, you got it.”

"You’re so sweet." Nagisa faked a cooing tone as he gathered the cloth into the basket beside it. "Now, if you’d just excuse me, I have costumes to make."

The way Rin sat up immediately reminded Nagisa of a young kid who doesn’t want to be left alone. Of course, he didn’t say this observation out loud because he did still fear for his life. “Would you-” Rin’s eyes were bright and full of questions, unlike his usual decisive and cold expression.

Nagisa’s smile was real as he nodded and took a few steps forward, placing a soft hand on his cheek. He rubbed it with his thumb lightly in silence, pouring all his bottled affection in it, before pulling back and curtsying. “I’m gonna check on you later. See you at dinner?”

Rin nodded with a dazed expression. “See you.”

—-

_"Do you really have to go?" A 12 years old Prince Rin stood on the side of the gates, eyes glazed with tears. "Your sisters would- Your mom is-" He tried to think of anything to say, for any excuse to make him stay. "Please," He ended up begging, because that was all he could do right now._

_A huge smile was on Nagisa’s face, eyes shining with dreams and hope and something else that Rin couldn’t quite comprehend. “I’m not like you, Rin-chan. I don’t have roots here.” He explained. “I want to see the world. I want to dance and learn and meet many people.”_

_The prince’s eyes were red from crying too much, and he was sniffling and sobbing pathetically. He knew this wasn’t how a prince should look like. But still. Still… “There are many people here.” He retorted, holding on to any hope that Nagisa won’t leave him. He was tired of people leaving him behind._

_"I’m not leaving forever." Nagisa said, wide smile turning into a soft expression. His voice showed sureness, as if he wanted Rin to understand that he was saying the truth. "I won’t leave you behind." As if reading Rin’s mind, as always, he placed a gentle hand on his arm. "I’m not like them. I’ll always come back to you." Hidden inside that sentence was an assurance: ‘I’m not like your dad, I won’t die while you’re not looking’ and ‘I’m not like your mom who would leave this palace and never come back’. He leaned forward and placed a quick kiss on Rin’s cheek. "I’ll always come back to you."_

—-

"They’re leaving." Mikoshiba announced, watching his prince’s face for any violent reaction. "They’re packing up and leaving tonight." He explained.

Nitori was stiffer than usual, waiting for an angry shout or a command to imprison someone. But none of it came. Instead, what he saw was a small smile on the prince’s face. “Prince Rin…?”

"I know." Rin just looked at the large window by the side, the one overlooking the city. If he looks hard enough, he could be able to see the familiar colorful drapes around their wagons. "I knew they would leave today. Nagisa told me."

"But-" Nitori wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, or what happened between those two, but he’s never seen his prince that happy. He’s never seen the prince let anyone in that close. He was jealous, yes, but he was also very grateful. Much of his earlier anger was because of this idea, that they would just leave Prince Rin behind. That they would make the prince happy but scar him more than anyone has ever done. The prince has had enough of people who would leave him behind. "But you and-"

Rin glanced at them with eyes that shone with tears. His cheeks showed a light blush and his hands were slightly shaking at his side. He smiled, and he looked truly happy, but those eyes had sadness in it too. It looked complicated, and the two palace guards were confused of it. “It’s fine,” He finally said. “Let me accompany them to the borders to say our goodbyes.”

"Prince-" The two stepped forward, worry etched on their faces.

Upon seeing their expressions, it was as if he suddenly realized that he was crying. He forced out a laugh, hysterical as it may be, and immediately wiped at his face. “No one will ever know what happened here,” His eyes turned predatory for a moment, showing the cruel prince they all knew. “Are we clear?” His voice was authoritative and deathly serious.

The two nodded, both in fear and respect. “Yes, sir.”

—-

Rin stood in front of Nagisa, staring at his costume and the way it revealed way too much. “I still can’t accept how stupid you look.” He said, because he didn’t know exactly what to say, and anything else that he could say might just make him cry. He didn't want to cry. He promised he wouldn't anymore.

"I think you meant  _beautiful_.” Nagisa playfully replied, smiling sweetly. “It was fun, Rinrin.” He added, a fond tone so filled with affection that Rin itched to touch his face.

It took all his willpower not to drag Nagisa back to the palace and chain him to his bed, but he knew the boy was a free spirit. Just as Rin cannot leave this place, Nagisa can’t ever stay. While Rin had roots, Nagisa had wings. “So I guess this is goodbye” was the only thing he could say that was safe enough. He could feel the lump on his throat and the heat at the back of his eyes, signs that he can’t hold off the tears any longer.

"It’s never goodbye for us!" Nagisa exclaimed, smiling brightly with that optimistic shine in his eyes. He reached out to take Rin’s hand and cradled it with both of his. "I’ll always come back."

"Though it might take years," Rin reminded dryly, trying very hard to be bitter but coming up short because Nagisa was _touching him_ and he was here and he was  _breathtakingly beautiful_  right in front of Rin.

Nagisa nodded, not looking guilty or sad at all. “But you’ll always be waiting.” He reminded with a voice that carried wisdom way beyond his years.

"Hey!" Rin actually pouted and glared at him. "I’m a  _prince_  who has command of one of the biggest kingdoms in this country and I’m quite a catch, if I say so myself.” He said this all defiantly, not realizing until he was finished how funny it must sound to Nagisa. He tried not to blush, just to make sure he won’t be the butt of the other boy’s jokes.

"Yeah," Nagisa just sighed wistfully. "You  _are_ quite a catch, aren’t you?”

Rin just gaped at him, unsure of how to react.

"And yet you’re a _grouch_ and you love me more than anything, so there’s that." Nagisa shrugged, smirk in place as he glanced at the side to see the guards watching them with worried eyes. His smile widened as he jumped forward and planted a firm kiss on the prince’s lips. "I fully expect a grand party when I come back." He whispered, close enough that his breath was fanning Rin’s mouth.

"Yeah, sure…" Rin, dazed from the sudden kiss, just blinked at the younger boy.

Nagisa giggled and stepped back. “Well then, thank you, my majesty.” He curtsied before pulling Rin’s hand to drag him back to his guards. One look at the two and he knew they were waiting for something from him. So he said “Take care of him, okay? Don’t let him overwork himself.”

Nitori just blinked, staring at him with a calculating gaze. Mikoshiba laughed and nodded, clapping him on the back and saying “Well, be sure to come back to check on him.”

Snapping out of his reverie, Rin rolled his eyes at his guards and said “You don’t have to worry about that.” He threw a loving glance at Nagisa and firmly said “ _He’ll always come back for me._ ”


End file.
